Que un Mundo Maravi-lloso

So for my next Spanish lesson my teacher asked me to translate one of my favorite songs into Spanish.  I considered translating La Vie En Rose, Volare or Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema) since they’re from other Latin-based languages, (figuring that grammar would already be in place and I’d just have to change the words) but she specified that it should be an Engligh song, so since I already had La Vie En Rose stuck in my head I went with another Louis Armstrong song:  What a Wonderful World.

My Spanish skills are pretty basic, so if you speak Spanish, feel free to submit corrections, suggestions or comments (I always welcome free help on my homework!).  Here are the original lyrics I used:

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow

They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

and my translation:

Veo arboles de verdes, rosas rojas támbien

Las veo abrirse por mi y ti

Y pienso para mí que un mundo maravilloso

Veo cielos de azules y nubes de blancos

Días brillantes y bienaventurados, noches oscuros y sagrados

Y pienso para mí que un mundo maravilloso

Los colores de un arco iris tan bonitos en el cielo

Támbien están en las caras de la gente quien está pasando

Veo amigos quien están se dando las manos dicendo “¿como estás?”

Realmente están diciendo “te amo”.

Oigo bebés llorar, les observo crecer

Aprenederán mucho mas que nunca sabré

Y pienso para mí que un mundo maravilloso.

Sí pienso para mí que un mundo maravilloso.

I took a stab at the “friends shaking hands” part, but I’m pretty sure it’s not right and will take any advice on the matter.

But what a fun exercise!  It’s especially entertaining when you attempt to sing the translation.  I sang it for my sister and her boyfriend, trying to hold notes long enough to fit the Spanish to the meter of the English lyrics and desperately seeking any potential rhymes along the way.  The “bright blessed days, dark sacred nights” line come out extra lengthy (22 syllables in Spanish as opposed to the original eight in English). I was laughing so hard I couldn’t make it through a single verse without crying a little.  And we all got the giggles from the title line, which almost makes a nice couplet:

Y pienso para mí / que un mundo maravi … lloso.

Now I just need to translate another song to get this one out of my head.

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9/10/09 Update:  A friend helped me improve upon some of the translations:

“I see them bloom for me and you” should be <<Las veo florecer por mi y por ti>>, and

“They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know” should be <<Aprenderán mucho mas de lo que yo nunca sabre>>.

Finally, regarding the big one: “And I think to myself, what a wonderful world,” should be <<Y pienso para mi mismo, que mundo tan maravilloso>> which, unfortunately, renders my near-couplet moot.  Nevertheless, thank you Jano for your help!